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My sister’s favorite car was a russet red MG Midget 1500, a British-made, two-seat convertible that was pretty to look at and a blast to drive. She loved that car. Everybody loved that car. Especially mechanics.

The Midget was a diva, a temperamental mistress dreamy enough to justify the nightmares she perpetrated with astonishing regularity upon her owner. Debra had the thing for 12 years. It didn’t make it to 50,000 miles.

This is Homer Bailey. He is an MG. His hints of stardom – two no-hitters! – keep you coming back. His elbow makes you wonder why.

Bailey’s latest elbow disaster – chips, floating – required surgery this week. The would-be Reds ace won’t begin throwing again for six weeks or so. After that, the same dreary drill of rehab and minor-league appearances and finally, the crossed fingers and toes of everyone connected to the fiscal health and competitive well-being of the Cincinnati Reds.

An elbow to a pitcher is a knee to a running back. An exquisite hunk of anatomy that when in proper working order, is capable of yeoman’s work and astounding results. Also like a knee, not meant to be forcefully contorted to produce better outcomes for its owner.

Bailey has pitched 34 innings the past two seasons. The Reds still owe him $68 million. This is a killer.

A small-money team cannot afford to lose a player making $19 million this year, or more than 20 percent of the team’s entire payroll. The Reds don’t have Bailey until further notice. They don’t have his money, either. Devastating.

The predictable blowback has been, “Why didn’t they give that money to Johnny Cueto?’’ Answer: Because after the high-ups and the medical wizards discussed it in detail, they concluded Bailey would be a better long-term investment. Plus, Cueto was a better pitcher, and likely would want more money.

Did the Reds make the wrong call?

Yes.

Did they do their due diligence before they made it?

Yes.

Bailey got the six-year, $105 million extension after the 2013 season. In 2013, Cueto went to the disabled list three times before July 1, with a lat injury that persisted. He made just 11 starts, pitched only 60 innings. In 2011, he didn’t make a start until May 8. Meanwhile, Bailey was on his way to a career-high 209 innings and a second consecutive year of 30-plus starts.

Each was 27. Was Cueto a better pitcher at the time? Absolutely. The Reds questioned his durability. They worried, too, they couldn’t easily monitor his offseason workouts from his home in the Dominican Republic.

I don’t question that logic. I question the Reds giving a rich, six-year deal to an average pitcher. Bailey was not a star. He was 49-45 lifetime, working much of that time for a good team. He’d never been an all-star. On a scale of 1-10, he was a 7. That’s a lot of years and money for a 7, for this franchise.

These days, the idea of a team in the Reds shoes giving a starting pitcher six years would be laughable. There is no more perishable product in baseball than a starting pitcher with a big arm. And no product more expensive. I asked GM Dick Williams what the team’s thinking was in 2013.

“Any successful team’s goal is to have a mix of experienced veterans and young guys that can come up and learn,’’ he said. Bailey, Williams said, “was one of our own.’’ (So was Cueto.) “It’s very hard to acquire that kind of talent on the open market.’’

There was also the notion that Bob Castellini wanted to demonstrate to fans that the success the team was having during that time would not dwindle once the big-name players became expensive. It was a nice thought.

The (slightly tarnished) silver lining to Bailey’s elbow issues is, a kid will get a big chance. It could be Cody Reed, it could be Robert Stephenson or Amir Garrett. It could be all of them. It’s time for some of that young talent the Reds believe they have to validate the faith. If you think the summer of 2017 just got longer with Bailey on the forever mend, what happens if a kid or two isn’t all right?

Homer Bailey is every bit as pretty as that MG. And every bit as fragile.